<p>On the assumption that the Bill of Rights in the Malawi Constitution has brought change in the enjoyment of rights by women married under customary family laws, this research study examines its impact on African customary family laws that are discriminatory against women in Malawi. The main focus is on customary family laws governing marriage, divorce, children after divorce, and inheritance in both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of marriages. The extent to which this has been reflected in practice is assessed in the light of women&rsquo / s rights law reforms and courts&rsquo / adjudication of customary family law issues.</p>

<p>On the assumption that the Bill of Rights in the Malawi Constitution has brought change in the enjoyment of rights by women married under customary family laws, this research study examines its impact on African customary family laws that are discriminatory against women in Malawi. The main focus is on customary family laws governing marriage, divorce, children after divorce, and inheritance in both patrilineal and matrilineal systems of marriages. The extent to which this has been reflected in practice is assessed in the light of women&rsquo / s rights law reforms and courts&rsquo / adjudication of customary family law issues.</p>

This dissertation explores the perceptions of different groups of people (subsystems) who affect and are affected by the phenomenon of day labourers in Tshwane. Three "day labourer sites" were identified. Businesses, residents, police, metro-police and the municipality directly connected to these sites were interviewed. Their perceptions were analysed using the systemic frame of reference. The data was processed to describe perceptual relational patterns between the day labourers and the different subsystems. The following themes amongst these relational patterns were identified and described: employment, law and order, contact between subsystems, sharing the environment / community and resources / facilities. These themes were described in relation to the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). This research aims to highlight some of the voices of the groups affecting and affected by the phenomenon of day labourers. / Social Work / M.A. (Mental Health)

The purpose of the study was to explore and examine the roles and responsibilities of state councils related to planning, influencing, monitoring, and evaluating activities. These activities had been mandated by Congress for the improvement of services for the target population of the Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975, Public Law 94-103. Forecast responses were sought to twelve questions that addressed issues relating to roles and responsibilities identified for the councils (a) in the law, (b) the regulations issued pursuant to enactment of the law, and (c) the program guidelines that covered operation of the program. Based upon the findings from the analysis of data in the study and feedback from the panel, implications and conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made. Five of the most important conclusions made were 1. A continuing trend in accountability is demonstrated by the increased emphasis on performance of councils, progress of clients, and effectiveness of service programs; 2. Evaluation activities are being seen from a broad scope and comprehensive viewpoint rather than on a narrow, localized scale; 3. Influencing activities for state councils may be approached from a practical as well as political viewpoint; 4. The voice of the consumer will be stronger in council affairs and service activities; 5. The role of the councils as a planning and coordinating body is finding acceptance.

Doctor Legum - LLD / South Africa

Magister Legum - LLM

In terms of Section 29 (1) of the Constitution, everyone has the right to basic education. This right is not subject to ‘reasonable legislative and other measures, available resources and progressive realisation.’ The right to basic, compulsory education is widely regarded as a fundamental human right. For example, this right is included in a number of international human rights treaties such as the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, the ‘International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,’ the ‘African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’, the ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’, the ‘Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All’, and ‘UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education’. The South African Constitution, however, does not clarify the content and scope of the right to basic education. Consequently, the Constitution has given the state wide discretion to determine the scope, nature and content of this basic right. Apartheid left the South African education system fragmented and unequal. The South African educational system has gone through numerous curricula and institutional changes. The changes in the curriculum were part of the transformation process of the South African education system. In addition, the state has allocated substantial public funds towards basic education. However, the investment in basic education does not commensurate with the quality of teaching and learning in poor and marginalised schools. For example, several rural and farm schools in the Eastern Cape lacked toilet facilities; textbooks and other education support material; furniture; and other essential necessities. Education loses its transformative power when poor and marginalised schools continue to lack these essential services. Consequently, inequality is perpetuated and the poor and marginalised are unable to compete meaningfully in the social, economic and political life of South Africa. The mini dissertation concludes by recommending that the Department of Basic Education should ensure that all schools, especially those in rural communities and farms, have access to textbooks, qualified teachers, clean water and toilet facilities and other essential necessities needed for the delivery of quality basic education.

Children’s rights are a world wide clarion call – yet, when it comes to implementing it in practice, the hearts of everybody starts racing because suddenly the issue is not just academic, it’s personal. In practice it is evident that children’s voices are not being heard or taken into consideration – while adults are solely responsible for making decisions that affects the lives children have to live. Children continue to suffer and are being traumatised due to the fact they have to live a life decided by adults who presumed to know the best. The fact that there is no consistency when working with children, specifically during the legal process, has been experienced as a serious problem. Research was undertaken to rectify the situation. The hypothesis for the intended study was formulated as follows: A protocol that can be followed by professional role-players can ensure that children’s rights will be protected during a legal process. The key professional role-players involved with children during a legal process have been identified as social workers, commissioners of child welfare, lawyers, family advocates and judges. In the qualitative study, a semi-structured schedule was utilized as guide for the personal interviews with each of the respondents. From this data, a protocol was developed and evaluated after implementation in order to determine whether such a protocol will enable the professional role-player to protect the rights of children during a legal process. The quantitative results proofed that a protocol as a hands-on guideline, is a much needed tool for the professional role-player in practice. From the study it was concluded that the existence of a protocol will enable the professional role-player to protect children’s rights during a legal process. Important recommendations included the following: <li>Specific skill training of the professional role-players in working with children.</li> <li>The value of implementing a separate family court system, involving all the professional role-players.</li> <li>The different professional role-players should respect each other’s profession, their abilities and skills and perform as a team to the benefit of the children in the legal process. Working against each other is to work ego-centered in stead of child-centered.</li> / Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / Chapter 2 of the Constitution contains the Bill of Rights, which ‘enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.’1 By rights being afforded to the employee in the workplace, such rights need to be protected (legislation being implemented by legislature is subjugated by the Bill of Rights).2 Labour legislation being implemented in order to protect the rights afforded to the employees,therefore creating fair labour practice in terms of section 23 of the Constitution. Such legislation needs to take in regards various rights of an employee, such as the right to privacy3 of an employee. This resulted in creating domestic legislation in order to protect employees’ rights to privacy. A detail discusses of how various domestic legislation were implemented to protect the right is discussed in Chapter 2. In addition to the implementation of domestic legislation giving effect to the right to fair labour practices, the Constitution requires that international law be considered when individual and a further international obligations with regards to international standards). Section 39(1)(b) provides that ‘when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum must consider international law’. This means that standards set by the International Labour Organisation and Conventions must be considered when interpreting the right to fair labour practice.4 A detailed discussion is dealt with in Chapter 2. The primary research question of this thesis is ‘is an employee’s right to privacy infringed by requiring a medical condition to be disclosed on a sick note for purposes of statutory sick leave?’ In answering this question, a number of ancillary questions must be answered, including whether doctor and patient confidentiality is breached in disclosing such information on a sick note; to what extent medical information can be disclosed in the medical information; whether there is a potential for misuse of information disclosed on the medical certificate against the employee; whether such disclosure of information could lead to unfair labour practice where the employee can be unfairly discriminated against based on such disclosure and how is privacy is being protected and processed in terms of legislation domestically and foreign legislation.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / The 2009 Save the Children, United Kingdom report indicated that eight million children worldwide find themselves in alternative placement. In terms of the statutory process, alternative placement of a child is when a child is placed in foster care or in a child and youth care center. The removal of children from the care of their parents is a statutory process that is driven by issues that put the child’s safety and development at risk. Although children are removed due to a risk factor, Chapter 2 section 28 (1)(b) of the South African Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, states that children have the right to family or parental care, or appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment. The risks that children are exposed to often take place in the family context. This creates enormous conflict for the social workers that are responsible for their removal. Due to this conflict, parents become less involved in the process and mistrust develops on the side of the parents as well as social workers. Research indicates that the removal process is an adversarial process, which is linked to the fact that the social workers’ concern is for the safety of the child. This often leads to mistrust. This mistrust, in turn, affects the manner in which the social workers interact with the parents through the removal process of their children. This study focused on the perceptions, challenges and experiences of twelve parents residing in the Delft and Goodwood area whose children were removed from their care through a statutory process. The study found that in addition to encountering a number of challenges, the parents experienced the removal process negatively, they did not fully participate in the removal process, and the removal process did not fully meet their expectations. Based on the research findings, a number of recommendations were made to professionals in the field to improve the overall removal process and thereby address the parents’ experiences, expectations and challenges.